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The town of Atherton and the local high school district are spending more than half a million dollars to settle a student’s lawsuit over allegations that police used excessive force when arresting him. After two years of litigation, on Feb. 27, the town and Sequoia Union High School District agreed to pay a total of $560,000 to resolve the case.
In April 2023, a Black Menlo-Atherton High School student identified as K.C. had his water toy confiscated by school staff when students were playing a game called “Senior Assassin.” K.C. was allegedly the only student who was unable to get his toy back at the end of the day. According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in 2024, when school administrators refused to return it to him, K.C. began to experience emotional frustration and distress.
Despite knowing that K.C. was a special education student, school staffers called the police instead of bringing in a special education teacher to de-escalate the situation, the lawsuit alleges.
Atherton police sent out a news bulletin saying that during K.C.’s emotional disturbance, he physically assaulted a school administrator by pushing them into a wall, spitting on them and calling them homophobic slurs. The student’s attorneys denied that K.C. touched or spit on anyone.
K.C. walked out of the office to remove himself from the upsetting situation, according to the lawsuit, and was approached by Atherton police officers at the bus stop on Middlefield Road, where he was arrested.
A viral video of the incident showed K.C. being pinned to the ground by police officers as he yelled, “Get off of me! My hernia! My stomach!” Students can be heard telling officers that K.C. was recovering from surgery. The harsh movements of the arrest caused him extreme pain, according to the suit.
The lawsuit named Atherton police officers David Metzger, Diego Romero, Igor Davidowich, Joshua Gatto and Dimitri Andruha, the Sequoia Union High School District and then-M-A vice principals Nick Muys and Stephen Emmi. Emmi currently serves as the wellness programs coordinator for the school district.
The suit alleged that police used excessive force during K.C.’s arrest and that the district released confidential student records to Atherton police without a search warrant or his parents’ permission. K.C. was later released and was not charged with any crime.
The student’s attorney, John Burris, said that the situation involving K.C. could have been handled more “humanely and positively,” without the “aggressiveness” that resulted in the lawsuit. He said he hopes that in the future, the district will be more mindful of how to resolve similar situations using de-escalation methods that will not impact its students in detrimental ways.
“ When you put someone in the juvenile justice system, on the criminal justice system, you are making a negative impact on their lives, so you shouldn’t do that unless it’s absolutely necessary, particularly with very young people,” said Burris. “ This is a young African American male, and it was important that his rights were protected so that he would not suffer harm as a consequence of this for the rest of his life.”
The majority of the settlement fees — $400,000 — were paid by Sequoia Union while Atherton paid the remaining $160,000. The school district’s attorneys stated that the settlement is not an admission of “wrongdoing or liability” and are “pragmatic decisions made to limit risk, protect resources for students, and allow the district and its employees to move forward.”
The execution of the settlement comes after the school district’s board voted in early February to close TIDE Academy, its smallest high school campus, as a cost-cutting measure in the face of structural budget deficits and declining enrollment across the district. Sequoia Union is currently involved in several other lawsuits that allege discrimination, wrongful termination and more.
“The district is pleased to have resolved this matter in a way that avoids prolonged litigation and significant additional legal costs,” said Sequoia Union’s legal team in an email. “The district believes the settlement reflects both the district’s strong legal position and its commitment to responsible stewardship of public funds.”
Burris told this news organization that this lawsuit was unique because it involved a school district, a police department and school administrators. He added that the various parties, its relationships with one another and its competing interests made litigation more complicated.
